BALDWIN - Rather than layoff his employees when their workload came to a near standstill during the economic downturn, one Habersham County employer decided to do something different.
President of SteelCell of North America Mike Smith said he asked his employees, who usually build jail cells, to use that skillset for community service projects.
"We had the idea and really sat and the table and said, will we really have the employees to do this," Smith said. "And we were just shocked when we met with the employees and almost every hand went up."
He said his employees worked on projects at Eagle Ranch, Habitat for Humanity and United Way, among others.
Smith said his employees continue to get full paychecks and full benefits even though they're not as busy as they once were building jail cells. He said what they're really grateful for, however, is the experience.
"Even more I think they understand that there really is a whole world out there they may not have been so familiar with that needs volunteer work," said Smith.
He said as long as they have some extra time on their hands, they'll continue to volunteer.
Sunday
June 22nd, 2025
1:05PM
